Bears will try to confuse Packers with zone blitz

Five-man pressure aims to force Green Bay to adjust protection scheme

January 22, 2011|By Matt Bowen | Scouting the Bears

The Bears defense consistently has brought more pressure in the second half of the season. They use the zone blitz to rush five and drop six into coverage, creating a three-deep, three-under look. That causes confusion in the protection scheme in hopes of getting a free runner at the quarterback.

Against the Packers in the NFC championship game Sunday, we will see the Bears zone blitz out of their base nickel package (four linemen, two linebackers, five backs) against Green Bay's "Posse" personnel (three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back).

The Bears will try to create a five-man pressure. Right end Julius Peppers will rush hard upfield with nickel back D.J. Moore blitzing off the edge and cutting underneath. Mike linebacker Brian Urlacher will blitz the open (weak) side "A" gap with the nose tackle and defensive tackle on "scoop" stunts — moving to opposite gaps. This should force the Packers to adjust their protection scheme and bring three players to the open side.

The coverage

The Bears will show a Cover-2 look in their pre-snap alignment and rotate at the snap. Free safety Chris Harris will play the open side seam-flat (responsible for No. 2) and drive on the slant route from the W receiver. Closed (strong) side end Israel Idonije will step to the line of scrimmage, then drop to cut off the Z on the smash route. Sam linebacker Lance Briggs plays the middle hook (responsible for No. 3). This creates three underneath defenders with a three-deep shell over the top — a six-man coverage.

The route scheme

It's a simple hot read for the Packers. When Aaron Rodgers sees pressure at the line of scrimmage, expect the Packers to slide the line to the blitz side and throw three-step slants. Right cornerback Charles Tillman will drive the outside slant (X), leaving Harris to play the inside slant (W) with help from strong safety Danieal Manning and Briggs inside. To the closed side, the Bears are looking at a smash-7 (flag) combo. Left cornerback Tim Jennings will drop the smash route (Z) to Idonije and play the new vertical No. 1 to his side (Y on 7 route).

Blitzing Rodgers

It's a risk to send pressure at Rodgers. He has shown the ability to get the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately. With the Packers using a six-man protection (the running back stays in the protection scheme), there is no guarantee the Bears will get a hit on Rodgers. Therefore, the coverage and tackling in this scheme are crucial to the Bears' success.

After playing at Glenbard West and Iowa, Matt Bowen spent seven seasons in the NFL as a strong safety with the Rams, Packers, Redskins and Bills, including playing for Lovie Smith and Mike Martz in St. Louis. When he's not writing for the Tribune, you can find his work at nationalfootballpost.com.